Chapter 13 Terms Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Chapter 13 Terms Deck (36)
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1
Q

A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts.

A

Bicameral legislature

2
Q

An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing Senate from taking action on the bill.

A

Filibuster

3
Q

Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55% of the vote.

A

Marginal districts

4
Q

Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more.

A

Safe districts

5
Q

An alliance between Republican and Conservative Democrats.

A

Conservative coalition

6
Q

The legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate.

A

Majority leader

7
Q

The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the house or the senate.

A

Minority leader

8
Q

A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking.

A

Whip

9
Q

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of his or her party in the house.

A

Speaker

10
Q

There are 2 measure of such voting. By the stricter measure, a party vote occurs when 90% or more of the Democrats in either house of congress vote together against 90% or more of Republicans. A looser measure counts as a party vote any case where at least 50% of the Democrats vote together against at least 50% of the Republicans.

A

Party vote

11
Q

Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area.

A

Standing committees

12
Q

Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose.

A

Select committees

13
Q

Committees on which both senators and representatives serve.

A

Joint committees

14
Q

Joint committees appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill.

A

Conference committee

15
Q

An expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body.

A

Simple resolution

16
Q

An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president.

A

Concurrent resolution

17
Q

A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president.

A

Joint resolution

18
Q

A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor.

A

Discharge petition

19
Q

An order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made into bills on the floor.

A

Restrictive

20
Q

An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor.

A

Closed rule

21
Q

An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor.

A

Open rule

22
Q

The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be constructed in Congress.

A

Quorum

23
Q

Amendments on matters unrelated to a bill that are added to an important bill so that they will “ride” to passage through the Congress. When a bill has many riders, it is called a Christmas-tree bill.

A

Riders

24
Q

A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate.

A

Cloture rule

25
Q

A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business.

A

Double tracking

26
Q

A congressional voting procedure in which members shout yea in approval or nay in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills.

A

Voice vote

27
Q

A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted.

A

Division vote

28
Q

A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering yea or nay to their names.

A

Roll-call vote

29
Q

A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the yeas first and the nays second.

A

Teller vote

30
Q

Literally “I forbid”, it refers to the power of a president to disapprove a bill; it may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of congress.

A

Veto

31
Q

One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of congress.

A

Divided government

32
Q

The same party controls the White House and both houses of congress.

A

Unified government

33
Q

“Hidden” congressional provisions that direct the federal government to fund specific projects or that exempt specific persons or groups from paying specific federal taxes or fees.

A

Earmarks

34
Q

Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.

A

Pork-barrel legislation

35
Q

The inability of members to mail letter to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage.

A

Franking privilege

36
Q

A vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators.

A

Partisan polarization